The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell serves a 12-state region that includes Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.

“Sandy has remained a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds strengthening slightly to 85 mph. The storm will make landfall tonight over the Mid-Atlantic states, and impacts are already being felt: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, has already had over 4 inches of rain and locations in New Jersey are experiencing gusts of 40 to 50 mph. Water levels from North Carolina to New York range from 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels. Storm surge and flooding will continue to be an issue for coastal areas along the Northeast.

“Inland flooding will also be a concern as over 6 inches of additional rain is expected in areas of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania today and tomorrow.

“Damaging winds will effect a large portion of the Northeast as Sandy’s wind field stretches hundreds of miles making prolonged power outages likely. Another aspect of this late season storm is snowfall. Blizzard warnings have been issued in West Virginia as this storm combines with cold Northern air.”